Good day. This is our second issue with the new format and the comments were generally favorable, except that a few people who opened the email on their smartphone emailed us to say their font was too small. We are working on a fix, and have made some progress, but the problem is still not fully resolved. As always, please feel free to email us your questions so we can be responsive to your needs. Thank you.
UPDATE: The Sick Leave Bank Application deadline has been extended to Friday, January 8. You can see the circular and find more information in the section below. Something to note about the sick leave bank: The one day contribution is “payment,” in effect, of what amounts to an insurance premium for participation in the bank. Once this contribution is made, you will not have to make another contribution to the bank until the bank of days runs out. Last time the bank asked for a day’s contribution, the bank of days lasted close to 15 years. The bank, cosponsored by the BTU and BPS, is now exhausted, hence the need for another day’s contribution.
There was important news this week as a Boston Globe report called out the city and the school district on the Boston Compact, whose main issue — a unified students enrollment application — is seen to potentially pave the way for more charters to operate in the city. The Compact is funded in part by the Gates Foundation and is designed to cut down the “silos” between the BPS, the charter schools, and the Boston-based parochial schools. Many observers have a less than benign view of the partnership. From the Globe report:
“…John Lerner, whose daughter attends Mendell Elementary School in Roxbury, said the enrollment proposal aims ‘to make it so charters can be neighborhood schools, so that when they start closing BPS facilities they can hand the facilities over to charter schools…’”
Blogger Public School Mama (“Not a union member, just a parent fighting for her children’s education”) has researched extensively on the topic of the Compact, the assignment proposal, and the possibility of school closings. Her blog is a must read (!) for those interested in the direction the city and the school district are moving in.
Please remember that there’s a New Educator Underground this Friday. See the BTU website for more information and a flyer.